R and B Money.
We are.
Take Valoti.
We are the authorities R and B ladies and gentlemen.
My name is Tank Valent time man, This Stormy Money podcast, the authority on all things R and B.
This is there.
There are there are records, and then there are hits. They are placements, and then there are singles. On speak, there are producers and then there are super producers. These are the lot of cool and yeah yeah, yeah yeah, we're here.
Y'all missed us harmonized, that's behind the scene act.
They might have to catch a lot.
We got it. Listen, cool, I don't lie to you.
We gotta do a little harm and it would tank.
It listen he kids, or right now.
We go see like come on now.
First of all, man, you know your brothers is man, absolutely amazing.
Bro.
You know this is coming from you know, a musician, singer, song writer, the artist since he was nine hanging out with Michael Jackson. Like we we are people who know and understand what in the fuck you guys are and it is it is awesome to have you brothers here, man, Like we we we family, but we we value your time, man, and we value your gift.
Man.
So this is important that you pulled up man, very expensive, very they got so many buildings, seventeen miles of ocean.
People pull up to the destination and you know they want to meet and greet two and you think you can come and take some phellos with me?
Who I mean the longevity of it too is a thing, right, So I think maybe we just start at the very beginning, because it's like to become cool and dre right, where does that start? Does that process start with you doing something over here and going crazy, and you doing something over here and going crazy, and then like, man, you're going crazy over there, I'm going crazy?
What do you think about? Like, how does that even happen?
That's a good question. I mean I think it started first, you know, cool and I we met in high school and we met in choir.
So so this singing thing is different. It's real.
Oh no, not nold on on.
You can't even if it wasn't choiet, let's not disrespect the class.
He was there.
This was vocal on sounds.
So yeah, we were. We were in vocal ensemble, performance, choir, and choir. Like you know, like in my senior year, I had five music classes like you know what I'm saying, going crazy with it. And we met in chorus and
the teacher, our teacher, miss A, she was. She left an impression on us, like like a serious imprint on us because a lot of the things we learned in class, we took that with us, like, you know, along the way, you know, from producing vocalists and whatnot, everything that she taught us about breath control and sing from the diaphragm and your head voice, your false set, all that shit reading music, you know what I'm saying. So a lot of the well, you know, we started an R and
B group. That's how we started making beats. We were in an R and B group. We couldn't find any producers that would do anything for us, and we couldn't afford it. So me and Cool we just put some money together and one of the guys from the the group had started like a T shirt company with one of our home boys, and we were just like, man, these niggas starting their own ship. They're not even inviting, they ain't even asked to be part of your little T
shirt company. Me and you, let's let's let's produce man, Let's teach you. Let's teach you how to produce. So you know, that's how it started, you know what I'm saying. And be a.
Part where you said y'all was an R and B group.
Yeah we we we made a new people.
Yeah.
Nah, people don't and then when they find out shout out Seventh Street. And she might not remember this, but she tried to test my arms. She tried to test the club group Basic Unity.
There's five thousand promo shots of us wearing karc Andi jackets somewhere in Miami somebody's wall or somebody's.
Just passing them joints out.
We had a little team, you know what I'm saying, And we were performing at all the high schools, and like, we made a name for ourselves locally at the same time with DJs too, so you know, we're doing all the Pirate stations. That's where we met Cayled back in ninety six, you know what I'm saying. So we were making a name for ourselves as DJs too, you know what I'm saying. So we just made a conscious decision to take music serious, and part of that was us
becoming producers. And you know, I think with me and Cool, we just we've been so tight for so long. We know each other so well. We know when I know when he's in the zone. Just let him cook, you know what I'm saying. And if I hear something he's doing, I get an idea, I'll tell him and he'd be like, well, come come fuck with it, or like I hated I love it, like you know, we're going right into the hits.
Yeah a choice, Yeah right, it's just so many, you know, so like I hate it on love the other dogs on top, like with that, you know, cool with leave whatever he was working on on the NP. See, he would leave it up and we were in his mom's.
Garage shout out to the old.
Yeah, I'm saying, you know what I'm saying. So one day I'll pull up. He's not there, and I go to our studio and I just pressed play on NPC and it's the hate of the love It beat. But I heard it. I heard the flip, the sample flip a little different than how Cool had it because I was just listening to the black album had just dropped, and that ourcore record was just like so special, just the way that that John Legend was singing and flowing on that the way that it was just you know
it was. I listened to it for like an hour outside his mom's crib, so I had that in my brain. So when I pressed play, I was hearing that the way that I was listening to our core. So I just chopped it up a little bit and then he came back. He was like, oh, yeah, that's dope, and he put the high hat sample on it. So sometimes it just happens that way. Sometimes cool cook the whole shit and and I'll just come in and a reference
like a single chorus, a single hook and whatnot. When we when we send the record out or when we're working with artists. You know what I'm saying.
And the somethings of magic. You know what I'm saying.
Some things of magic as well, Like like when Dre started vibing out, I walked in and I was like, you know, I used to I used to There was this thing I used to like do We always had the turntables set up and we just had a wall of records with samples and ship and I used to always like to like put the put the turntables on so we can hear them live, and while the beat is going, I would drop the needle somewhere right just randomly dropped the needle and then when the music the
sample would come in, it would come in on us such a different timing that you don't even recognize, you know what I'm saying, bring it back, but it's completely you never recognize.
That it's there, you know what I'm saying.
So this particular time I dropped it and that the signature I had came on, I said, Yo, sample this and we put this the high hat in there, which ended up being a signature.
Yeah, the head give it that sids are listening.
This is this is what you're doing right now is a master class because people aren't thinking like that when they're sampling records.
Nah, when you sample, you know you you're going through this. This is like drop the needle. Wear it drops. Sometimes you get magic, sometimes you don't. But I used to be like, drop and then it will be a.
Segment of.
Vocal.
Oh yo, but it's not like we're searching.
Just call it the random the randomizer, you know what I'm saying.
Let's see what Let's see what happens.
But I used to I used to love doing that because we'll have beats playing and then you're not You're gonna get always gonna get something different when you drop it. Sometimes you getting you ain't getting nothing, But you know how you're searching for us for a certain songs.
It's a different kind of inspiration when it's out of that random, magic, calculated.
And when it comes in on key it's really crazy.
Yeah, it's meant sliding.
In there, you know what I'm saying.
Or we would use it as inspiration for like a hook, you know what I'm saying, and then Joy be like, yo, let me let me pop a hook on there, and at that point you just it inspired to create an original element, you know what I mean.
So so take us from basic unity having to do your own beats. Now you're DJs making a name for yourselves as DJs.
You're killing all the parties. How do you get to a.
Point to where anybody in that professional space recognizes that y'all got some shit going on and they need to be a.
Part of I think our first sign was when we were still in the group, when we went to Atlanta, UH to try to get in front of La Read. At that time, the Face Records was you know the dream you're an artist, musician, producer the Face Records is that's the destination. You know what I'm saying. I don't care what you're doing, singing, rapping whatever. They had Goodie Mob outcast, Tony Braxton, Ussher, you know what I'm saying.
They had as Yet, you know what I'm saying, And they had they had Babyface over there.
Writing songs right and Babyface office was on one end of the building.
And so I found out, like, you know, somebody in my family worked at Face and she had like a big position. So we we just went up there on faith Man. We went to Atlanta and just started hustling and finally got in contact with her and she had us come up to the office and we just pressed play on the music we was recording, and we sang live for and she was like, you know who you need to sing for. You need to sing for Organized Noise,
Rico Wade. So me and Cool was just like ecstatic because it was their music that really gave us the confidence to really believe in what we was doing. Because we were using a lot of live elements along with samples Cool was cutting. They were doing everything that we felt hip hop should sound like. So to get the opportunity to sing in front of him was like, oh shit, here we go. So we did that, and I'll never forget every beat, every record he heard. He kept saying
who did the beat? And me and cool like we did it, and then after that who did the beat? So at the end he was like, man, y'all good that this and that he goes y'all niggas sek to do what y'all? Keep doing? What y'all doing? You know what I'm saying. That shit gonna work out for y'all. So that was like a huge indication because you know, like to be able to like the people you idolize give you that fucking that thumbs up, like yo, y'all doing the right thing, don't stop. Was our first indication
that and it was a big one for us. Now we worshiped Dungeon family. Anything that niggas put out, even if it was not hitting, we didn't care, like we was champion and they ship. So we took that energy, came back home and went even harder. And plus we had made a name for ourselves with the beats here locally with like all the independent record companies, right, so you know, paper bag, oh.
Man, oh, man, that's not just the song.
Man. Let me tell you something, oh man.
With the original brown paper bag boy.
So like you know, young nineteen twenty years old got the condo over Biscay Bay when I was getting to it. Now, the way the Miami Heat players lived, you know, we in there these niggas is like, who are these guys records?
No, you have no replacements.
Replace.
This is called you know, artists finding our beat CD and in one of their friends cars and just like yo, we used to put the beats and we used to put our number on there be like, man, what is that?
Let me get some who beats?
Who beats?
Then?
And then we had like consistent clientele, like guys that was in the street doing their thing, you know what I'm saying. Would would would?
You know?
That's how we learned business too. You know a lot of bad habits, but good you know, good game.
We picked up from you know, just selling ya street beats for like back then.
It was like five hundred and seven hundred thousand, you know what I'm saying.
But we was offering them bitches, moving theuckers.
And that's when the btds had thirty two tracks.
What tied.
Got the bag right here, twenty thousand for thirty two. So we was doing our thing, but you know, we were blessed. I think what what took us to the next level? Uh. We have a mutual friend with Fat Joe, our man Rob and and he was like, Yo, Joe's working on a new album and he's looking for some down South beats. And I told him, Yo, I know some guys that you know, they are on fire in Miami. So he was like, Yo, don't give him none of the hip hop shit. You know that y'all be doing.
Give him some down South shit. So it was how many beats on there?
Thirty thirty two, So that used to be my lucky number. Everything gets thirty two.
So thirty two we put thirty one straight down South type beats for what it sounded like back then. And we's like, yeah, we got puke one one hardcore like the shit, you know what I'm saying. So the very last beat was like some straight East Coast you know
what I'm saying, New York type shit. So the story is Joe's on his tour bus and they're listening in their car in Orlando and he's going through the CD and he's just skipping, skipping, skipping, skipping, and the last beat comes on and he's like, there's no way the same niggas who did the right It's impossible. I gotta go meet them niggas because this is my favorite beat of all time.
Yeah.
So he comes down and.
We I remember that we got the call first, so our man, it was like, yo, Joe wants to speak to y'all. So Joe gets on the phone and it's like, y'all, this is my favorite beat of all time. Gosh, this beat on here is my favorite beat I've ever heard in my life. He's like, in fact, it's it's such an amazing meat that I want to record it in Miami. I want you to come to the studio because that's I want to meet y'all. I want to meet the
guys who did this beat. And then he and we were already doing mad Ship with call it, you know what I'm saying, like underground radio, and Joe comes in the studio and we come in and you know, we meet Joe for the first time, and Cali walks in and goes, these are my guys, Cool and Dre I've been telling you.
About, you know, just like.
Themiah. He's seeing the connection with us and Cal He's like you know that, and he's like, what do you mean? These are my guy? In fact, they was the only niggas not hating on me when I came out here. They actually like gave me opportunity, you know what I mean. So it worked out like super perfect, and then from
there I think we got even closer. He had an R and B artist, Tony Sunshine at the time, and shout out to Tony I talking him today and he was like, Yo, your niggas know how to do R and B And We're like, yo, we was R and B singers, right, yeah, singer. So we were like, yeah, we could do that. So we started working with Tony Sunshine and then we did this one record that was dedicated to Big Pun and it felt like I believe I could fly. It was that chord structure. It felt
like you know that chamber and you know. We we recorded our saying the whole ship, and then we sent it to Joe and he was just it just like blew him away. He's like, I didn't know you niggas could do all of this, y'all. I gotta come to New York, So he flew us up to New York, and then we spent a good four years, like you know, tussling.
What we would do is we would we would we We had to be in the studio with Joe A by seven o'clock, so all day, all morning, all day, we would cook up, cook up, cook up, cook up, cook up, cook up. Go see Joe play like twenty
new beats whatever he wasn't fucking with. The next morning, we was hitting every studio, every record company, boom boom bom, boom boom, passing out the shit he didn't picked, cooking up another twenty new beats, going to the studio the next night with twenty more new beats, like we just kept We was just not the only shit we was doing was probably playing GTA and fucking cooking up like non stop and that ship. You know, the volume of beats who was doing and the fact that we was
from Miami making them type of beats. We made a name for ourselves, Like in the city, even before we had a hit or anything, people were like, yo, coolan Dre's the next this and the next that, this and that, this and that.
So.
This is that type of.
Yeah, you know what I'm saying, man, like that the footwork hustle is different than than the thumb, than the thumb hustle off email, It's so different because you had to have a different type of hunger, fire and desire to cook up twenty. Go play the twenty. Okay, cool, we still got fifteen left. You only pick five. Go hustle the fifteen. Make another twenty nigga.
Like every day four years straight.
And remember this is like so, so we had an eight o'clock session, Me and Dre would be like, yo, we want to get in earlier to cook up.
So we get we did.
We'd at one o'clock. Cause you know, it's not like now you just pull up your laptop and make ten beats. No, this is like we had an equipment set up, our MPC, yeah, the keyboard.
We had to go to the studio to produce these these these beats.
So we was getting there ahead of time, cooking up for hours, food coming back.
Joe gets there, were playing the vibes. Joe's like that one, that one, that one. The rest.
The next day, like Jay said, we hustling them up, like yo, all the A and r's we're pulling up like we went from an RS, we met A and RS. They were like cooling who and then and then a couple of weeks later, Yo, where y'all I need I need a batch.
So what's your first placement? Do you remember? Yeah?
It was it was it was a combination.
It was nineteen and the nineteen ninety nine it was Fat Joe King of New York featuring Bougiamon Tyan And then we had the two j T Money.
Yeah, we had placement.
So we had two on the JT Money album?
Was he on Atlantic?
We had that big song, Yeah, it just came off.
So we had two records on the album called Blood Sweating Blood Sweating Years or something.
Like that, and we did two records.
We grew up listening to JT Money.
Yeah, so it was.
It was a big deal for.
Us to work with them. Absolutely, so simultaneous go three placements.
But Joe, I remember we went in New York when the album dropped and I remember phone Flex, Remember when her phone Flex playing.
It was the first.
We always say, yo, if you got the album opener, it's a big deal because you set in the tone the rest of the album. That opener, that middle record and then that outro you're sitting you know what I'm saying, like, those are important records, and I remember us being in the car and for Master Flex dropping bombs on that.
There.
It was like, you know it was charging at this point.
Oh no, it was.
It was it was still for the law, but we were just appreciative.
Yeah, at the end of the day, it was I remember it was we we got fifteen hundred dollars for that beat, right, And when we started working with Tony Sunshine, Joe was like, YO, so how much y'all charging now? And it's like whatever, you know what I'm saying, Like, it's whatever, Joe, He's like, all right, y'all charge in
fifteen thousand. Now, we called our attorney, call our manager and said, yo, new price alert because back then, you know, when a major artist, and you know, Joe's a major artist. Once the label paid that fifteen thousand, that's the going fifteen bands, Like you know what I'm saying. So you know, got a credit Joe too for that. You know what I'm saying. But what you was this that's O one oh two, two thousand and two.
That's a good number for that time.
Well, you know, that's why you gotta That's why you gotta salute. You gotta salute the icons. You know what I'm saying. I was having a conversation with some some young producers at the studio the other night, and I was like, Man, it's a different it's a different game now, like you know, coming up for me and cool. If you would have had two or three consecutive hits back to back to back, you could go make some real money, real money, because you could go That's what happened.
We run.
Yeah, we had New York for job Rule and then for months later hated I love it and the whole the whole energy surrounded all the artists involved on those records and what it did. That's it's a historic you know what I'm saying. It's a it's a moment in the culture. So we're blessed to even be a part of that.
Right.
So we were able to take that energy and go hard and make a lot of hit records and a lot of great album records and put ourselves in a position to get seventy five thousand dollars for a beat, you know what I'm saying. Sometimes you catch the motherfucker for a hundred because you don't even know where they are. They're big pop artists. They want you to do a remakes or something because we on fire. Let see if you get a hundred. But that only could happen because
Timberland was getting to fifty. So you know, in your place. Yeah, and no matter how big, and no matter how hot we get or whatnot, you know, we respect the icons, you know what I'm saying. And you know that's why you sit down and you say thank you for real for getting two hundred and fifty thousand a beat or whatever at that time, you know, because it allows us
to say, I, yo, shit, you giving them that. You know what I'm saying, We madd at seventy five, you get four for what you're paying for one.
You know.
So we used to be getting four or five records on albums at a time because that was the jug, right, So you know. So I'm telling these young guys at the studio, I'm just like, man, it's different for y'all, you know because nowadays, when you look at the credit the credits, it's twelve thirteen names, yeah, in that producer section, bro, And it's like, man, it's hard to shine and collaboration is amazing. I love it, you know what I'm saying.
I think collaboration is great. We've collaborated, what I'm saying, in the past five seven years, we've collaborated with producers more than we ever had. You know, we come from you know, we come from an era where the guys that were at the top we're still talking about today. Like you know what I'm saying, these guys are like different, Like you know, when the Neptunes went on their run, it was a different type of run, Like you've never
seen nothing like that. Like you know, I can remember me cool, just like we had to come up when in two thousand and one when fucking Pharrell had Britney Spare, well, let me respect, the Neptunes had Britney Spears. I'm a slave with an in sync fucking girlfriend record and the Nori super.
Like.
It's just it's just like, you know, if that's if that's the person that's set in the standards and you respect the craft and you're trying to be great, you got to really work hard to even you know, get into that same space, you know what I'm saying. And so but these kids now, man, it's like it's ten motherfuckers on the record. I ain't saying nothing wrong with it, you know what I'm saying. It is what it is.
But you don't you don't really know who to call facts.
You know, it's so much and and but there's more, there's more avenues now because you know, as a producer you can go really put together, craft the album and create your artist page on Spotify and go hard, you know what I'm saying. And there's there's guys like today that that like, you know, like I appreciate what they're doing in in the culture, Like I really appreciate what someone like a metro Booming is doing, Like I that is very that feels very what's the word.
Like?
I know what that feels like me? Like when I watch that, I'm like I can resonate with what he's doing. That feels like it comes from the lineage, you know what I'm saying. Just in today's time, he's doing everything possible to touch the culture, you know, and doing it in a creative way, you know what I mean. So not to say that there aren't producers that's you know, really killing shit, you know what I mean, Because there are it's just a different time.
It's just like you guys came up in a time where as we all came up in a time where identity was a thing, right, and so you wanted to be identified as a certain thing so that people knew exactly who to call for what, and and we all love the collaborations. And I say the same thing the artists, right when artists are like, man, I got this joint, I'm telling you, if I get Drake on, this is over.
And I'm like, well, if you get Drake on it, it's no longer your song, and every time you come out on stage, they're going to be looking for Drake. I said, But if you can just sustainablish your identity first first, even if it's mid don't matter.
You're can establish you that that.
Like the young kid right now that got the record for Beats, you know what I'm saying. He got the record and Drake ended up hopping on a remix, but that record was already established as a four best record, you know what I'm saying. And the record is incredible, and now Drake's on it. Cool, Now it takes it. Now we go to the level, to the next level. But he established that record by himself. He didn't wait hoping he'd get a feature.
Right feature king to him, I'm jumping on that.
He was building. They saw him building a house that man, I want a room in there, you know, I need a floor in there? Can I can?
I get involved? And so it's like we still have to maintain we still have to maintain that conversation with these young artists and these young producers and this listen, build your thing so that they have to come to you to get that that They got to come to that visuality as well though. And it's carving out your space, right.
It's like it's like anything, you know, people send us music, people send you guys music all the time. I don't want to hear what I've already heard. I just don't I get that from them. And that's cool that you sound like such and such, But what about sounding like you? Even if that sound people may frown upon it at one point, you know what I mean? But establish who you are. Like I love when someone comes with a refreshing new voice.
Oh give you on Friday.
You know what I'm saying, Like Daniel Caesar, like those guys sound like themselves. You know what I'm saying, khalive, you know what I mean, Like these these guys sound like themselves, Like I don't want to hear fifty seven Chris Browns.
Y'all not him.
Bro, can't flip from the top rop that's different. But they all want to because they think he's the cheat code and that's cool. And I'm sure I'm going to ask him next time. I'm like, you're tired of this ship, a little bit tired this shit, man, Don't have me just be out here thinking like I'm just the one of the only one tired of here fake Chris Browns.
But it's a great reference.
It's become a it's become like an epidemic of it. Like it's like, bro, like be you, because as you get people to buy into you, they continue to push you up because they tell somebody about you. Have you heard such and such? Yo, his voice is crazy or I don't really get it all the way, but I feel it. And this is same thing with the music,
same thing, same thing with the production side of it. Yes, you can get on the radio by sounding like somebody else's song, but it's another thing to have a sound.
It's another thing to have a sound. What is what is the first hit record?
The first hit was it was New York, New York, and we knew it because we was we were living in New York at that time, so a lot of records that we did that were like album fillers would get played in the mix. So we got hot that way too, like you know, so shout out all the DJs definitely that that have always like rinsed our records, even though even if they weren't singles, you know what
I'm saying. But I can remember we were in l a for like the first time, and we was at the mandre back when the Mandre yea to the skybar. And the only reason me Cool could get in that bitch is because we're staying at the hotel. The hotel because that them people was gonna let us in that other way, right, So we in there and were chilling and you know it got the models and whatnot mean cool.
We like, yo, this is five and out of nowhere, they put New York on the DJ New York and the whole crowd start singing at me cool, like they know this shit. They thought it was just a New York record and it wasn't you know what I'm saying, and that was the first time like we were like okay. And what was dope was when when we did that record. You know, it was originally a beat we gave the Joe and you know it was it was a different sounding type of beat. At that time, it wasn't too
many records or beats that felt like that. Everybody was still like doing a lot of soul flips and whatnot. And Joe was like, I like this, man, but it's it's different. And we kept trying to press him like we recorded this, I'm telling you it's that shit, and he's like, nah, y'all could go ahead and play for somebody else. Was like, all right, cool. So Joe Rule and IRV and all of them are down here working on the album. So I go over there and I
pressed play on the beat and IRV loses it. He's like, Yo, this shit is crazy. Yo, But dre put one of them hooks you'd be doing, man, put a hook on there. So I go back to the spot we was using at the time.
Remember joh, I mean Jada kiss had to be I didn't know the Jada kiss.
After Joe said, y'all, now, y'all go ahead and Andy, y'all go ahead and and get you know what I'm saying, send it to other people. First person I said it was Jada because we had been talking. I'm like, yo, Jada, I sent you a vibe and Jada's like, yo, son, this is crazy.
I messed with it all right?
Cool, So I didn't know nothing.
I'm like, you know, cause people get beats, they say yo, I'm with it.
And so I'm a type of person I don't like to mention ship unless it's done, you know what I'm saying.
So that was one of those that I didn't even mentioned. I'm like, could we get that all the time?
Right?
So we're at the studio right, and Dre's like, y'all, I'm put a hook on this vibe so I'll never forget it. I'm laying on the couch right because that's what we're just vibing up in the studio in the garage, and Dre got the beat going on NPC and he's like, and I just started mumbling A hundreds two hundred clips and from New York and I had it to New York because there was a KRS one hook that popped in.
My head's like, hold on, what's that. I'm like, oh, that's a k RS one vibe. He was like singing again and J was like, and Drake came.
With the I got clips Nigga from New York and I finished off the whole ship after and.
Then we go to the Hit Factory. Go to the Hit Factory. We dre sings that he goes.
J was like, y'all got a hook idea and her was like, yo, go later, go later. Reference J goes in there and lays it down, Joy walks and he was.
Like, yo, what is this?
And it was history from that. So the crazy thing is he's like, yo, I know just who to get on this. Who was the first part he said Nas.
First was like yo. Before he said that, he's like, Yo, I know I'm gonna put on this. We're gonna put I'm gonna I'm gonna put Joe Crack and Nas. And then when he said Joe Cracker was.
I know you're gonna give us pressure over It was.
IRV calls Joe and he's like, yo, man, your guys came over here and gave us one this and that. He's like, listen to this ship and he's playing it and all you hear through the phone is that's my beat. That's my beat.
That's my beat.
So I get the phone. He's like, yo, Drake, why are you giving niggas my beat? That's my beat? I said, yo, bro, you said you ain't want to beat no more. But yeah, but and it had that hook on it. Nigga put that hook on it, so you know, it was all loved. Joe was like, all right, cool, and then IRV tried to get Nas, but Nas is like out the country or something at the time, so he's like, man, you know, Noa's out the country. I know exactly who I'm I'm
gonna put Jada Kiss on it, and then cool. It was like, oh I forgot about it, so I had to be had.
But Jada was cool.
He's like, I saw good, I ain't cut it yet, blah blah blah. So when IRV hit him, it's just crazy that all.
The it's just you can't even make the shut up. So on the reference track, just warming up, I was like, this is this is I'm just warming my voice up. And so when it was time to mix it, I was selling to engineer, Yo, you could cut that shit off, like that's just me doing a reference. It was like, nah, yo, that shit is dope as fun.
Not leave that ship first produce.
A tag, yeah, and when we shoot the video draw I want you in there, man, do your thing. Let him know, And then it ended up being a tag like you know what I'm saying, So, you know, shout out to Earth for that. But you know that's how that that record came. And then the crazy shit is like four months later that record is still doing his thing, but at the same time it's creating. It's creating like tension.
In the city.
Yeah, because you know at that time, you know, Job was in a space where you know, people were really really counting him out, you know what I'm saying. And you can't blame him because you know, fifty cent dropped this classic album, right that was just like you know, yeah, it's a classic, right, So people were really counting them out.
So this song was just like it gave him new life and it was just the hottest record of the summer, and so it created at tension, these guys all start beefing with each other out of nowhere, you know what I'm saying, and then hated the love it comes out with had y'all already done, It had already been done, you already recorded that. We didn't even know. We didn't know it sounded like until the album drop Man, we heard.
That we didn't put it this. So we got a call like, Yo, y'all got a placement on on Games album?
Y'all know what beats?
It was?
Ship.
They're like, yo, y'all got a placement, give us your attorney, blah blah blah. Like, Yo, we got a placement on on this game. I'm just like a word, that's what's up?
BLA.
I didn't even know what beat it was. A week and a half later, I'm in the car and I hear the damn song you hated Love It on the radio.
On the radio, dog, I called Dre, So now I know the beat.
This ship is on the radio.
So they've done the business for it. Everything shit that record.
That record. Remember the story I told you about going to fifteen thousand dollars a beat.
As a Joe.
That record is the reason that we started getting four points off rip on every record we produced. Because they put the album out, they didn't do no business. Our attorney was trying to get the business done before the album dropped, and she kept telling them like, yo, y'all can't put the album out. Y'all ain't even do the business. Yeah, this ship came out. She's like, Okay, now I'm gonna get you four points forty thou it got.
What happened was the song got leaked, you know what I'm saying. And before that, the right when the album dropped, the song was already doing twelve hundred Dreams of Spinds a week smash. It was out of here because there's the Remember the original single.
Was Dreams Dreams that shot a video.
They had shot a video to it and everything already, so they had to switch gears. But we I found out what beat it was on the radio.
Oh my big gable. Of course, it gave us leverage, you know what I'm saying. The business property was it was.
It was out of here before it was a life changer because what happened was and guess what, no one else knew we did the beat all right, because they don't have the tag either anything. No one else knew we did the beat.
So we go.
We we in la at Marvin Gaye Studio because Mary J. Blige wants to work with us because they hated to love it. She's like, I worked with the niggas who didn't hate her to love it. But mind you back to the point about the tension. The first time I heard the record was in the back seat of Escalade with Fat Joe in the front seat and his manager
at the time, and they're playing the record like fucking crazy. Meanwhile, Joe Krack and fifty Cent hate each other, and I'm in the back seat like this and niggas is looking at me. I didn't know, and they're like yo. And then Joe loves us so much, you know what I'm saying. But Joe got a lot of a lot of street guys with her, and all of them this nigga man, yo crack yo, So.
It's hard to celebrate your biggest record, right.
But it's all love. It's all love, you know what I'm saying. It's called family business, you know what I mean. It's it's family. That's why we family. So, but no one outside of the circle new we did the record. So we get called to go to La to work with with Mary and she's like, yo, I need hated to love it. I need that. That's the fuck I
need y'all do what y'all need to do. And I think shar Garrett was the writer in the studio at that time, and me and Cool was just playing beats, playing beats, and we really didn't catch any chemistry with Sean that that day in that session, like nothing really came of it.
So we go.
Now we're in in in Atlanta because Jeezi wants to work with us because he wants to work with the guys who did the New York Beat. And he's like, Yo, that synthesized the sound that y'all gotten that New York. So I'm telling all my niggas, YO, listen to that, make ship like that. I want them. Since I said, fuck it, might as well call the niggas who did the beat Man. So we get to New York.
I need one of them.
I need. So we go over there, and you.
Know, as producers at that time, we never wanted to repeat the sauce like we were so hell bent on creating a new sound, like you know what I'm saying. So Jez's telling us to our face, give me New York and being Cool to do everything. Horn Records, Sailpol Records.
We've we've all been there. You know what I'm saying. We didn't know.
Remember, we got two hits simultaneous. We didn't know how to Let's let's use the same sauce.
We ain't know, right, So we're telling the nigga, Yo, you know we did that Hated Love It record. He's like, what, Yeah, we did the hat of the Loving record. He' said, Man, I you know, y'all niggas did that shit. Man, that shit, that shit a smashed nigga. So we're trying to give him everything else. While we're in that session. Yeah, literally, we get the call from Mary in the Gezy session. She goes, look, I wanted to work with y'all so bad. I know we couldn't do anything. You know, we couldn't
cook up anything new. So I said, fuck it. I just sang over the fucking hated I Love It beat, did it myself. I'm gonna send it to y'all now. So when we listen to it, as Mary j Blibe singing overheted love It. At the end of the record, she goes, cooling, dre this beat is hot. And when that remix came out, it was game over because we were still the only recognition we were getting for as producers was the New York Record and the New York
that was a hit. So then when the Merry remix came out, I said, Cool and Dre this beat is hot. Niggas was like, Okay, hold up the same niggas who did that?
Did that?
That's impossible. It's completely different sounds. And then that's when our life like really changed, like we I can remember being in Mansion and us Man and Forrell seen us and he left his table to come over to like show love and me and Cool was like, we need to be showing you love, like like we we look and copping please for no reason. We're like, hey, yo, listen all them articles saying that we're the next Neptunes. We never told him that, Like we're mad we keep
they made that ship. I'm like, I'm telling him like and he's like, Yo, don't even worry about I'm just letting you know, like we're upset about it too.
Just even knows about article.
You know what I'm saying. And he was just like, Yo, that baseline, that baseline on that record is is forever man. Y'all got a forever, y'all got a classic forever I was like, yo, you're at the New York Record we did, like you know what I'm saying, and like he went on his way.
Shout out the Doctor Dre for putting the most amazing in history ever on a record, like.
It won't come out until he's what's ill is when we did we we would there were certain things that we would emulate, not emulate. We would take a gem, so Doctor Dre would he would do on his choruses. He would add a tambourine to a snare, and he wouldn't do it on every snare. He would do it. He would do it on one snare, let the other one breathe, and then do it on another snare. So on Hated I Love It did that. We did the exact same, not knowing it was ever going to do.
To Dre.
It was just a gem we picked up from him.
You know.
I can remember when we our first meeting with Jimmy Iveen and it was about some whole other shit years later and we're sitting there and like remind him, like, yo, you know we did the Hated to Love It and he was just like, that's one of the top five records in my top five records in my career period, like of anything I produced or anything was on my label. He's like, let me hear, let me, let me hear that beat before Trade did what he did to it.
So me cool.
We didn't understand what he was saying before Dre mixed it. You know, I want to hear what I want to hear before doctor Drake opens up the laptop, puts the speakers on and plays the beat. Jimmy goes, it's the same thing. It was not that you know, you know Drake is who he is and worship from, but you know, it was really like he couldn't believe it.
He put a hell of a mix.
You know what I'm saying was already close exactly like he was.
He was gonna here straight like like the.
Like you're gonna do that to my man, We couldn't fit.
It's a mission to get in.
Come on, man, come on man. But man, you know the.
So Dre did have shout out Mike Alezando, I mean shout out just Dre and everything that he did.
Man, but he put he had him play the bass over.
Because you know, you know, as music producers, musicians, it's all about the chains that bass chain that Dre has vocal chain. You know, it's the best quality of everything. So when we got the credits, we saw bass by Mike Alexandro. I'm like, that's why the bottom man, Like when that comes on in the.
Club today, it just cuts through. It cuts through like all he did was had the man.
We're musicians, So it's the bass.
It starts with the actual machine like it could be a custom machine just doesn't you know what I'm saying, doesn't have the same like it could be.
It's the pick up.
People don't understand. It's not just whatever you pick up.
First man.
When we did when we did.
My Life, we had My Life is the Game Future.
Yeah, we had the record, had an eight o eight and before we went to mix, we could we tried to cut the base on there like ten times with different bases.
It kept the base kept clashing with the eight of eight.
It kept canceling out, and I'm like, Yojoe, we got mix this where we got a deadline. Games like ya, we got to turn this shit in. We're like, we're at the NRG studios, remember we had Yeah, we had a NOD session with nas and we're NRG Studios and I'm like, yo, let's get it one last time.
And the bass player called me. It's like y'all got a brand new base. They telling me this ship is the magic. I'm like, bring it through.
We just to give it one last shot because we had to, uh, Steve and the other studio, Possifi had the.
Mix up, like y'all just need the bass. So my man, the bass.
Player, Lord of the Strings, we call him, he comes to the base still clashing. I'm like, damn, we're gonna have to We're just gonna have to keep the eight to eight. So then the assist an engineer, he's like, y'all want to try the glue. I'm like, the hell is the glue?
He's like, hold on.
So at NRG Studios even you know that studio in La Did, They have like Moroccan style room and shit super vibe. So they have a sex They have a room with all gear, vintage gear. So this guy walks in, opens his shit up and it's a p bass fender from nineteen fifty nine. You can't even see it's completely raw wood from all the it's exposed hooks.
That ship up eight away comes on with the base and it's the marriage.
It's crazy perfect.
I said.
Yeah.
So when y'all get these records right, and y'all going from five hundred, seven hundred to fifteen hundred to fifteen thousand to forty plus four points.
Yeah, what y'all buy?
Y'all had to buy something because now y're not just now y'are just not in the in the apartment playing gts.
You can't look regularly in the apartment now.
We you know my my advice cars like you know what I'm saying, Like I was hustling backwards when I was younger.
Now was called we were signed to blow the bag records. Yea, lo blow the records were.
Doing all the wrong stuffy you know, and I want to shot, but I don't want to cause them because it's nothing for love. We're working with Tyree, who we love. You know what I'm saying. That's that's you know what I'm saying, that's fam and we're working and uh, he had to Batley and I can remember the Bentley the GT car right now. I like that Benley and he goes man. You know what I'm saying, You can get the belly easy. You know what I'm saying. You got
a crib. I'm like, yeah, I got Creepy's like, man, it's pull equity out that bit ship. I'm like, oh, you could do that. He's like yeah, nigga. So like I think my first I mean, you know, I think the first splurge we had was when we bought to Escalade trucks, Escalade.
As big as you can go, you know what I'm saying.
With the twenty threes, and then right after that the Range when the new Range body came out, and then right after that you know, uh, the Bentley GT. Coop.
At least we bought cribs though, No, no, the first thing we did was.
We bought houses.
We knew that much, so smart.
No, that's the first thing I think, you know, I did not. Oh no, the first thing was bought cribs. And then but like you know, with cars and ship like that cool to tell you, I went, I went, I went. I went, stupid bro bro.
Like, how many cars do you have? At once?
I had seven cars parked out out front of my house and it was it was it was so disrespectful because all the cars combined costs more than what I bought the house for it. So that step one in Hustling backwards, you know. Part two is it's three garage house. You know, so it's now two cars in this one, one of the old schools in this one, and now you got four cars in the front and like two of them truck like you know, it was a lot.
Of stuff with car covers on there.
Association was like, yo, yall, can't keep car covers on all these cars like that.
So the problem is because you don't have a ten car garage house. You know what I'm saying, I'm driving whatever is closest to the fucking curve, like meaning like I had the Ferrari and the and the and the Bentley in the in the in the garage. Yeah, and then I had the Keif for cure, I had the Bends and the fucking Maybac fifty seven s and the range Rover and the and the Escalade all of that.
And if I wanted to take the Ferrari out to like go to the heat games we used to go all the time, I would have.
To move all those yeah, and we had to move card.
It was.
It was.
It was crazy.
So like you know, when we started getting money, like if if if if splurging like for me, uh, with cars, and then another thing cooler and I did a lot was experienced, so you can't even see the money you spent. It only lives in your memories. Like these blind people in you're having dinners every night, the biggest suits, you know what I'm saying. And fortunately were blessed to be able to to to still maintain that. Like you know, we've seen so many horror stories, you know what I'm saying.
So today we're still like you know, blessed to be able to like live a lifestyle. Thankfully we're smarter, you know what I'm saying. Now you know what I mean. So now I'm not I'm I don't need seven. I don't need it, but I gotta have the coloring because you.
Know what I'm saying. I mean, you must have gotta have the Wraith.
You know what I'm saying.
Oh, you have to have the Raith.
I mean it because it just strives mooth once you once you once you're in it, you know, they call it, that's the magic carpet ride. Like once you want the magic carpet ride, you can't.
You don't want to feel.
Got the range?
You name two cars over five.
We got a lot smarter now now you know what I'm saying. It's like, you know, we didn't been there, We've done that.
You're also in a different earning space too.
Yeah, your music and catalyg generated something crazy.
I know it was a problem, man, because when we was we were spending a lot of money on that American Express.
I ain't going that black car.
And none a hold on. That's before the black car.
When I call them people up and say, hey, I knew it was I knew it was serious when I called American Express to get the black car and the lady said, before I could hang up, the delivery man.
He was here.
They go, Oh, they couldn't wait to give y'all ship man.
Look, I'm like talking to the lady. Then yes, the Centurion, no problem. It's twenty five hundred a year for each card. I said, Yeah, that's cool. Blah blah blah.
My brother before I hung that phone up.
Delivered a circle house.
Them boxes came in with a metal case. They want you to spend so quick.
Yeah, you're good. They want you to go.
They want you to go crazy.
You know, I mean, give thanks, man, because some people don't recover, you know, what I'm saying. Yeah, and and I think you know, for me and cool, like we've been in We've been in the game for two decades now. So in order to be in the game for two decades, you got to be in the valley a few of them years. You know what I'm saying. You start off, you start off in the valley, you feel me and then so that's what you know. So it ain't nothing wrong with it. You know you want to go further.
When you go further, and then that valley starts knocking on your door, it's like, oh, ship, that's a whole new feeling. Yeah, that's all. And some niggas never recover from that first knock on the door where it's like, hey, yo, this shit you've been doing, you can't do it no more. For whatever reason. Some people have personal problems. Man, a family is sick, you know, niggas will be wondering why whatever happened to him it was winning. You never know
what could be going on. And if you're a true artists, true creative, and you put your life into your work and you put passion the shit that you do, things like a mother or father having cancer will affect your work. You know what I'm saying. You know, that's why you got to respect the people who just is like fucking so driven they don't let nothing, you know, slow them down. But most of us, yeah, because life happens. Yeah, you
know what I'm saying. So so you know, for me, cool, Like we've been in the valley a few times, you know what I'm saying, thankfully, you know, you know, we're in a position now where we've lived and we've learned and know like you know, you know, certain urges that we have and you know, back in the day it don't even exist. Yeah, I think when you get to this point in your career and you're still somewhat relevant
and you still have to impact our culture. And at the same time, for us, I think for like the last two three years, we've been leveraging our resume and you know, and our accomplishments and what we've accomplished in music to be able to open up new doors, you know what I'm saying, and new opportunities to do other things outside of the music space, you know what I'm saying, And and and that's been very good for us.
Let's talk about that.
Let's talk like come on, let's talk about the business side of you know, this music thing for you guys outside.
I won't even say the business side, the ancillary things that now, like you said, you guys have been able to leverage by you know, because we all have a moment in our careers period where we're like, Okay, the network has to be your network, right, you know, you have to be able to say, Okay, now, what can I do with the accomplishments that I've had and the things that I've learned in this game that can take me to other places? We should, right, everybody doesn't do that.
I always preach. He always preaches that you should though, you know what I mean, because what someone may think is done in this space over here, they're like, we've been waiting for you.
Oh man, it's don't get no rider than what you just said. Man, the music business is a business. Where what have you done for me lately? All right? So you know, I remember our first time hitting the valley was just we had a label deal with Interscope, and we knew going into it. We said, yo, pay attention to all the other producers. When they started their own company, they got real quiet.
Because they're trying to break their own artists.
And if you don't pop your artists off, it gets tough.
Yeah, because you also go into a space where you dry up the market in terms of placing records. So you ignore those phone calls for so long till they stop.
You're putting all your energy and it's yours now, so you're putting extra blood, sweat and tears.
That's a whole new relationship. Yeah, it's a relationship.
Yeah, this is yours. Like you want to break a new artist everyone as if you're a music producer, the goal is to cultivate new artists and introduce them to the world and and and hopefully they go on to become you know, icons, they go on to become like really big artists. So you look at a doctor Drean and see what he's done, from NWA to Snoop Dogg to Eminem to fifty cent. He had a hand in
Kendrick Lamar himself as an artist. You you can't name too many records that Doctor dre has produced for I mean produced on that's not signed to him, right, Organized noise outcasts, Goodie mob, you know what I'm saying. Society is so you can't name too many records that they produced on that wasn't coming from their camp, you know what I'm saying. So that's how Cool and I always wanted to function. So when we did the Interscope deal, we put everything into that, all of our attention into it.
And when you do that, other people are calling you for music and you don't give it to him, You're gonna be like, what the fuck?
Right we neglected You're naturally gonna neglect the bread and butter because you know what, and trying to break your own you know label, So.
You know, when you don't put something out there for like a year and a half, two years, and now the artists who were trying to break maybe it's not doing what it's supposed to do, all of a sudden you're ready to just you know, okay, shit, we gotta
get back on our shit. The game might have passed you by, the sonics might have changed on you, because niggas is going to other people, you know, and that me and Cool found ourselves in that position, you know, around I can remember around like two thousand eleven, and in that time, you know what I'm saying, And you know, fortunately for us, you know what I'm saying. My man
worked on the Jesus Peace album. You know, we work with Game and got ship cracking, and then Boom do all the way up with Fat Joe, and then you know, put out an artist Kent Jones at the same time and then Bom. You know, you remind niggas and they're like, Okay, we're not going to sleep on them no more, because they're gonna find a way to come back with you, you know what I'm saying. So I think those experiences and being able to survive that people outside of the music business appreciate that.
Right.
So if you've been in the game for twenty years as a producer or whatnot, and A and R might look at you and be like, yeah, man, but we want the new thing. We want the new hot thing. You know, it's okay for Rick Rubin to be in the game for thirty forty years. You know, I respect Rick Rubin on another level. I respect them just as much as y'all do. It doesn't work like that for us for in our culture, you know what I'm saying.
You know, it's changing now because thankfully we're from a generation where a lot of the guys I grew up listening to like Cameron Mace, Fat Joe, like, these guys are really viable right now and fucking the game up in the media and killing the shit. So thankfully we from that era where you know, like okay, just a
new day, you know what I'm saying. But in finance and other industries, they want to work with someone that's got a twenty year resume that looks like a Cool and Dre that have worked with jay Z, Beyonce, you know, fifty cent, Fat Joe, you know, Fallout Boy, Little Wayne, Like it's gonna go, It's gonna keep trust me. That is a long list of month and they're like okay, and they're still say they're still viable. They're gonna want
to do business, you know. So one of the things that you know, Cool and I have done in the past two years is like this whole this whole wave of artists selling their catalogs and whatnot. You know, there's two ways to look at it, you know what I'm saying. If you're smart and you have a plan, you know for what you're gonna do with that when you sell that asset, and you have a real plan on how to grow that money and make it work for you.
You know what I'm saying, Then great, go do that and if if if you still if your mind is still sharp, because this is the music business in the same sports. We just got to have a sharp mind.
Yeah, you can do it forever.
We could do this shit fever, you know what I'm saying. Then then go create a new catalog you mad at you, you know what I'm saying, Or do a deal with If your catalog exceeds whatever was forecasted, make sure whatever that is that's above the forecast, make sure that shit get busted down eighty twenty you get the eighty you know what I'm saying. Every contract, no standard lego block shit is what you negotiate, you know what I'm saying.
So a lot of that we've been in the space to where we've been working with you know, different financial institutions like a Franklin Templeton, working with different venture capital people in the tech space like an A sixteen Z. You know what I'm saying, Shout out Megan and Judine and everybody over there. To create different avenues for artists to use their IP to leverage it without having to divorce themselves from that asset. That's something that you want
to do, you know what I'm saying. So that's something we've been doing. We've been blessed to be a part of this cannabis wave, you know what I'm saying. You know, we're venturing out to New York with that, blessed to be part of a great group of people doing that. So you know, we'll be in Manhattan real soon. Look out for us. And we're doing something really creative you know over there that's gonna be great for you know what I'm saying, people who like to smoke, and you know,
people who are create music and everything like that. So you know, we got that going on. And we also created a new distribution company. It's called Nebula, and it's really cool because you know a lot of artists they make music and they find it hard to get their ship up on the DSPs or get their video up on YouTube. They say, it's easy as hell. I shot a video not too long ago, like a year ago, and still can't get that vitabar too right. So that made us say, okay, how can we make this easier?
Because if we haven't problems trying to figure it out then I know, you know the person, you know what I'm saying. So, you know, and we're in the era of everyone wants to be independent and everything, which is great. So let's create something for people to go and and be able to put their music throughout distribution and get their ship up on all the right all the DSPs,
get the right looks at certain playlists and whatnot. And we've incorporated AI technology with our platform, which makes us unique, makes us different, you know. So there's a cool and dre you know, brain and the actual distribution platform. So kids, can you know, ask any questions on how to you know, what kick should I use, or what preset should I use? Or you know what I'm saying, how do I go about marketing and promoting my my my single or my
video or whatever questions they have? You know, we have the technology that's going to answer it right on the spot.
Yeah, now it's got to happen. Has to pull on my keyboard. That job was talking about keyboard, serious keyboard. New way I don't think is hold on, let me get to my damn muscles. You should have just.
Picked up a grand piano and walked it upstairs. Man wouldn't be the same.
Come on with it. I'm gonna sustain pedal either. So that's that you know, I'm really working this ship.
Cool and dre You've you've been part of historical moments, Yes, they have, and now the people want.
To know if you know your history.
Come on, out of all the songs you've heard, out of all the tunes you've sampled.
What is your.
H T five, your top five? Come on, tip five, your top.
Five all Revy singers?
Oh wow, already songs?
Oh wow, we've got to know.
You got to show how many cars and how many boats?
Your yes? Yeah, now top four you're stop five.
Oh yeah, that's serious. How many guys? How many boats?
Man?
Top five R and B singers, Top five all time, all time time, Wow, all time?
Man.
All right, I'm gonna go with I'm gonna go with my favorite. All right, it's not even about them being like my favorite top five. De'angelo is gonna be the first one. Yeah, the second person I'm gonna put and don't even play with it. When I say the name, don't even play is gonna be Prince. And if you have a problem with it, if you have a problem with it, play Diamonds and Pearls because I know y'all want to be what you do. Let's go Crazy, which
is a classic, played Diamonds and Pearls. Another guy that doesn't get the credit he's supposed to get as a singer. His name is Joe. You know, I love m J. Because MJ's voice is so pure. And if you watch the little documentary they put out the other day on We Are the World watching takes, don't play.
You guys gon enjoy your world.
You know what.
Perfect I'll put Michael just you know what I'm saying. It just is what it is that that you know, just go back to and he was six years old singing man killing grown men?
Right, all right?
So MJ. And then last but not least, you know why he was a beast? You know what's crazy about? Why is a beast? But over the years I've started to really, really really appreciate them runs that Sean Stocker was getting off sciences that I mean, we we always you know, always kicked the door down at the end, yes, but man, that boy Sean Stockman got them run.
With the runs too, was just oh you snuck that in there.
Man, crazy. So last I'm gonna throw a female in there. I'm gonna say name and and and you all know it. But the reason I'm saying this name is because we worked with her when she was fifteen years old, and I never heard a fifteen year old, sixteen year old girl.
Sound like this.
In fact, we did a record for her when she was signed a Job Records, But Barry Weiss shout out, Barry Weis.
I know his son.
Well, I don't know, but you know our medicin, so I ain't gonna say nothing crazy. So we ended up giving the record to Christina Million. It's called say I and Christina killed it to you know what I'm saying. But the original of that was sung by a female name Jasmine Sullen, and she oh like when Miku heard her for the first time, we started champion her. We ain't never seen like that, never seen someone sitting down singing. So those are my five, you know, Jasmine Sullivan, Prince,
m J. DeAngelo, and Joe. Those are those are my five.
That's an amazing list. That's amazing list off off rip number five for me. You know, I'm I'm I'm an old soul at heart. You know what I'm saying, I would go Donnie Hathaway. Hmm, Donny Hathaway, just when that come on, it resonates with your with your bloodstreams, you know what I'm saying, Donny Hathaway.
Number four Luther.
Luther was just too smooth man. That ship was like.
Like honey over the beat, cleanliness mhm.
Personal favorite. I gotta put Lauren Hill in there there.
You got to I ain't mad at you because she just she.
Just ain't give us enough. And that one album was just like you play it today and it's like, I mean.
She doesn't get the credit for being the artist that as an MC was at the very top of the MC class and as a scene made you forget.
You forgetting forget the rapper. The rapper was second because fuck.
And by the way, she's on the big screen too, she was active to talk, you know what I'm saying. So I think she's a blueprint that sometimes people forget, you know what I'm saying.
Yeah, she just when that voice come on, it's just something about that tone. And when she get to singing some of them and her son Y G.
Barley's got her on first single.
Shout Out.
You know what I'm saying, dat Lenis though the Marley.
And the cout. Congratulations on that.
Number two.
Uh.
I would have to say m J as well. You know what I'm saying, Michael Jackson for sure, just too many, It's just too much. Voice was just immaculate. And then you know when you started like seeing some of all the songs, he was just writing on his little recorder, beat boxing.
The whole hit, the whole hit Different, Different.
Man was alien and one of my personal favorites. For my number one, I would have to say Marvin Gaye, Oh yeah, what I'm saying. We had the honor of working in the studio, like Jay said, with Mary and we got they have this paint Have you been there in Marvin Gaye studio? So it's a it's a sunset and there's a painting on the wall. It's like ten feet by like six feet, and the painting comes with a book and the book each each portion of the painting, the book explained the part of his life, you know
what I'm saying. And we was going through the as I was going through the book, you know you see on there like from a moment he passed away. You know what I'm saying the moment he was killed. But you see on there like all the stages of his life. He was the first guy to get a million dollar check,
Barry Gordon. It was on there like the actual check, you know what I'm saying, And it was like so you know, just that that experience of we felt his energy in there, you know what I'm saying, And yeah, that's my top five man, Marvin definitely.
You know he's he's a goat. He's a goat.
Great top five.
Yeah, yeah, what else you got form? I think I ain't got it.
Play a grand piano, this little machine guy. Let me go to grand piano to him. Hey, I ain't saying no nigga. Hey, I ain't saying no names. I ain't saying no names. I ain't saying no name.
Whe he was who was weird?
What you did?
Don't say she? I ain't saying no name.
It's crazy, yo. Yeah, before you do anything. What's the kids? The kid's name that's got the outrageous voice with his natural is what you was on stage singing with.
The mother.
Every was cold as fuck. Not too manyiggas. Game that's cold blooded.
He's not playing games on Listen on demand.
That Nigga was singing some ship and it popped up on my TikTok, and my TikTok is usually aliens and all kind of Joe Rogan and I scrolled up and that Nigga was singing the Tavin Campbell and I just sat there and just listened to the ship. I said, what with with with extra extra sau And you know the algorithm catches you if you watch something long enough, So he just started flooding my ship. And then I seen you and him on stage, right, y'all was growing out.
I was like him and why ye was on stage with him from boys.
To men.
And singing ship?
I was, you know, why he ain't foling? You know what I'm saying, ain't folding. But Wilson was giving him a run for his money.
Yeah, okay, I just.
Want to know.
We got to shout him out. Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh blooded yeah, that brother is special. Well, you know, we've come to this moment. We've come to this moment. You know, my brothers are here. You know, we gotta we gotta have some you know, some good times. Right, So we got this segment of the show it's called I Ain't saying no names, right, Well, y'all tell us a story. Our stories funny, are fucked up, are funny and fucked up. But the only rule to the game you just can't say no names.
Mm hmmm.
So I need Cool and Dre's.
Journey in the Times and the Life and Time, Life and Time, Miami's owns O.
I ain't saying no names.
All right, So I ain't saying no names. But this is early in me and Cool's career. We were in New York and like we were saying earlier, you saying we had a we were buzzing without any hit. You know what I'm saying, We're just buzzing off of the placements. We didn't even know what a placement was. I just learned the words placement like three years ago. We just hustled, you know what I'm saying. We make a music the niggas we fuck with, right, you know what I'm saying.
And then the young kid says, y'all got a placement? Fuck you talking about placement anyway. So we in the studio, we're working with an artist who's also is known for something else and very popular, very big. But this person also is taking a stab at being an artist and it's on an iconic collaboration song. That's iconic, all right. So we're working with this artist. We do a record, and we want to get the feature on the record. So this artist has this particular artist in mind because
this artist is like had a buzz around them. It had a big single. So they booked the artists to come to the studio.
To do He started laughing.
Immediately, I swear rushed my brain so le I literally right, not just then passed out.
I swear to god, Oh my god, I was gonna go yo, wow, damn my nigga. They booked the session. So the artist is in the studio. The feature artist is in the control room learning the parts and everything. Now the main artist who we produced the record for, pulls up to the studio. It's their session. Yeah, So they go in say what's up? Sits down, and the energy in the room is not like popping like that,
you know what I'm saying. So the engineer, the future artist tells the engineer to tell the main artist, hey, can you wait in the lounge. You know they're catching the vibe and you know want their own space, you know what I'm saying. So the main artis like, no, it's no problem. We respect that. I respect that. I don't want to get it done. I don't want to buy a record.
You know what I'm saying.
I don't want to buy So the lounge is next door, literally, like you know, walk out the control room, the lounge is there. Main artist sits on the sofa, turns on the TV. Low. Ten minutes, nobody comes in, nobody comes out, ten minutes go by. The engineer opens up the door, goes to the main artist and says, hey, so you know, you know, they not feel like really comfortable, like they want you to know, wait downstairs in the lobby if it's cool. So the main artists are, way, I'm in
the lounge. I'm in the louch. I'm not bothering.
It's just me.
It's just me, you know, I can't. They just asked if you could wait downstairs. So the artists like, fuck I fuck it. I go downstairs. Sh'S my session.
Fuck it.
Goes down the stairs, turns the corner, go sits in the lounge of the studio by the front door, like this is a very very popular artists or anybody walking in that front door. We got a picture about forty minutes go by. The engineer walks down the stairs.
Get the fuck out of no way, no way, no, no, this is not about to happen.
No, I tell you this ship here, you can't make it up.
It walks down the stairs, It goes to the artists and said, look, they're in the booth. They're trying to get it done. They asked me to see if you were still downstairs. So the artists like, oh, okay, they want me to come up. No, can you wait outside?
What the fuck is fucking perhaps in your car.
Outside?
The artist goes the building. Are you fucking kidding me? What the fuck you want? Be away outside the fucking studio?
Man, what the fuck?
I don't know what to tell you, Like, they asked me if you were down there, and if you're down there, that's why they can't get it done. So artists goes into the truck, into their into their car.
What have you?
Sits in there and they're stressing that. Like an hour later passes. They see the artists leave the studio, jump in the suv and drove off. So they're like, fuck, thank god, let's go and listen to what the fuck you know? It's been like three hours whatnot. They go upstairs, all right, let me hear what the let me hear, let me hear what they did. The engineer goes, they weren't really feeling the song, so.
Br this ship can't make it up.
Yeah, we heard the story.
Was crying.
We said, Yo, this is a story.
This is exaggeration, right. The Edgindeary was right there, said, nah, I witnessed it. I played a role in it, like I don't know what the fun just happened. But that's that's the story. That's like, like to this day, it's one of the ill ship that.
You pulled that one out. I wasn't even thinking that, but then that was a good one, right.
No illmatic that ship was the only ship ever. So that's that's that's the story.
I don't say no names, man, never the person who is the artist gonna see this. They gonna bust out, They're gonna hit.
Us, like I would be looking for that artist. I'm gonna be looking in the comments. I'm looking for the comment I was there never.
Seen no ship like that. That's that's that's one of the ill ships that I've never seen nothing like that ever.
No, So there you go. Well, my brother's cool and dre again. Man.
We we first of all, we can't thank you enough man for taking your time out and coming up here and just you know, giving us an opportunity to give you your flowers, man, and and giving our community an opportunity man to just hear the journey man, hear the here, hear the mountaintops, here, the valleys lows man, and and and hear how you've come out on the other side of all of those things and some into some really really great things.
Man.
We're proud of you, man, like we look at you and see you like, okay.
Appreciate the big fans of the podcast. Yeah, killing it. I'll be I'll be singing harmony with your niggas, but I'm at the crib sing.
Oh not that I know. Don't worry about it. Yeah, I don't worry about We're going to be the future. These records done.
I'm ready, stay ready.
Yeah. I can't thank you guys enough man.
And when you get ready to put that music, got run one of them new singles through Nebulas.
We're gonna show it that extra.
To reck it out right now.
Yeah yeah, really, well, let's go, Lord, is the Lord's I want.
I wanted to mention this because you know what I'm saying, Like at the end of the day, me and Dre Man, you know, we we all spiritual brothers, you know what I'm saying, And we definitely believe that God is the reason we're even still here, you know what I'm saying.
And you know we believe Cole heartily like and just have patience in his plan for your life, you know what I'm saying.
And I'll never forget, man, when we was in our journey early on, you know, everything, I felt like everything in life there's a.
Purpose for it, like this this interview, it is a purpose for it.
You know what I'm saying.
When me and Dre was doing I'll never forget when we were doing the R and B thing. We was doing performance and we perform in like different places, and our manager at the time, he had us perform at this at this hospital, right and this this always stayed with us because of what happened after. So we performing, we were in the cancer ward and we're performing for all terminally ill kids and I.
Remember there's this girl in the front. She was just smiling and.
Just like we was dancing, singing for the kids, and we're taking pictures and you know what I'm saying, signing little autographs and left it at that. A couple of days later, our manager caused us, He's like, hey, man, you wouldn't believe what happened to the girl that was sitting in the front. Her mom called me she wanted the pictures in the video that we shot because the day after she said she hadn't seen her daughter smile in years, and this is the first time she's seen
her smile in years. Was when we performed for her and she passed away and me and Dre we were at Taco Yeah, like the next day she passed away and me and Dre were you know, we ain't had that bag like that, so we was always a Taco Bell was the cheapest thing to eat, so we would we would pull up at Taco Bell, grab our food after we left my mom's garage, and we would park at the Taco Bell and just talk and then just eat.
And I'll never forget, I said, you know, Dre, what if what if the sole purpose of the group that God put together, the sole purpose was to make this girl smile one last time? And that's the end of the group. And what if me and you are meant to be big producers? And Dre was like, nah, we about to be the biggest R and B singers in the game. I was like, I'm just saying, you know
what I'm saying, you don't know. And it just so happened that look at us now, you know what I'm saying, and this is like we had nothing, this is pre is this is like this is we just bought our keyboard. I said, what if God the whole plan was for the group to get together to make this girl smile one last time when she went to heaven from her mom,
and bring us together to make music. And it was like, you know that that stuck with me because I felt like, you know, God has definitely had had his hand in our career from our whole career, you know what I'm saying.
And we've always been like.
Yo, when it's God's time, it's God's time. You know what I'm saying, just leave it in his hands.
And we just hear man. We just honored to be here with y'all brothers, you know what I'm saying. And because at the end of the day, we go we go.
Like when I seen he when he hit me, He's like, YO were in Miami. I said, man, you still got the same number. That's how you know you're dealing with some good brothers, you know what I'm saying. Like, my man got the same number. I was like, of course, be an honor man, because at the end of the day, y'all, y'all can't leave Miami without having cooland jail. So it's the honor to be here with y'all man.
Love. Listen, my name is thank V.
This is the Army Money Podcast, the authority on all things are and B and these have been my blowing money, fast brothers, a lot of cars.
A lot of money spent, but we're still here. Make some noise.
A thank you.
R and B Money.
R and B Money is a production of the Black Effect podcast Network. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Don't forget to subscribe to and rate our show, and you can connect with us on social media at Jy Valentine and at the Real Tank. For the extended episode, subscribe to YouTube dot com, Forward slash, R and b money,